Casey DeSantis condemns ‘disgraceful’ Nikki Fried comparison of Gov. DeSantis to Hitler

casey desantis
Fried compared DeSantis to the Nazi dictator last week.

In an email to political supporters Monday, First Lady Casey DeSantis condemned a “disgraceful attack” on her husband by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried.

DeSantis was referring to a radio interview last week in which Agriculture Commissioner Fried compared Ron DeSantis to Adolf Hitler.

Fried’s comments, made on Florida NPR stations Friday, have become global news since, with Mrs. DeSantis the latest in the Governor’s orbit to go on the offensive against Fried.

“Just this weekend, Florida Democrats compared Gov. DeSantis to Hitler. This comparison is repulsive, offensive, and minimizes Hitler’s evil crimes against humanity,” the First Lady wrote.

In an interview that aired Friday on the Florida Roundup radio program, Fried compared the Governor to the German dictator.

“Instead of listening and trying to govern with the people, he’s trying to govern over the people. And that, I’m sorry, I’m a student of history too. I saw the rise of Hitler. I learned those stories,” Fried said.

When asked if she was comparing DeSantis to Hitler, Fried stood her ground.

“In a lot of ways, yes,” Fried told interviewer Melissa Ross. “I have studied Hitler and how he got to power. Wanting his own militia. Having his own army.”

“Do I think that we’re going to get to the extent of Hitler’s power? Of course not. But the rise of his power and what he did to scapegoat certain parts, especially the Jewish community in Germany, and how he utilized going after the media, going after and scapegoating people and blaming people and putting fear and taking over the military, that’s what this Governor is doing,” Fried added.

Fried’s comments got a swift rebuke from the Governor’s Office Friday.

If we had an honest media instead of DNC stenographers, reporters would be criticizing Nikki Fried‘s dishonest and offensive claim that Gov. DeSantis is the modern Hitler. Such a comparison trivializes Hitler’s crimes against humanity. This is not funny, it’s sick,” DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw tweeted.

Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez on Sunday called the comparison “despicable” and said “if it wasn’t so sad, it would be laughable.”

“What we’ve seen in terms of her reference is that she is no student of history. Because Gov. DeSantis has stood strong on the side of freedom. He’s protected people’s liberties throughout this entire pandemic,” Núñez said on “Fox and Friends.”

“And as it relates to our stands, Gov. DeSantis is the most pro-Israel governor in America. He has dedicated historic funding to protect Jewish day schools. He has fought the BDS movement, and made sure companies like Ben & Jerry’s are held accountable. And he’s prioritized Holocaust survivors throughout this entire pandemic,” Nuñez added.

“I don’t know what reference she’s referring to as it relates to Hitler, but it is a despicable reference, and it is sad,” Nuñez said. “Nikki, shame on you.”

Fried’s comments have gotten national pushback as well.

“Given the lack of class in every aspect of her life and political rhetoric, it should come as no surprise Nikki Fried is willing to stoop this low to remain relevant,” said Republican Governors’ Association spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez. “To invoke murderers like Hitler and Fidel Castro as a comparison to any elected official is disgusting and out of line. Florida Democrats up and down the ballot should condemn her rhetoric and call on Fried to do better and stop disgracing her office.”

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


62 comments

  • Tom

    January 17, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    Is FP happy yet.
    How bout all the haters, that perpetuate FP.
    Nikki Fraud is a disgraceful person. She is a liar and ineffective office holder. No one knows or understands what Nikki Fraud is ruining for except for hate. She is mentally ill. Disgraceful.

    • Concern Citizen

      January 17, 2022 at 12:26 pm

      Scapegoating is what DeSantis and Pushaw have been doing to their opposition. They love to create division with their vitriol. Similar to what Hitler did with the Jewish and Roman communities.Did Fried praise Hitler, NO, she only made a comparison that some of DeSantis’s actions are similar to Hitler.
      And lets not forget that many Floridians have lost their lives to Covid, because of our Governor poor policies towards the PREVENTION of Covid. Deadly policies in the name of freedom…Needless deaths in the name of liberty.

      • Karma Zappati

        January 17, 2022 at 1:45 pm

        So politicians, MSM & keyboard warriors on social media like Concern Citizen, are now getting increasingly frustrated & unhinged because they cannot stop rational, logical, sane people who do not support their dictatorial tactics from questioning their decisions & living their lives.
        According to cognitively disabled, Doddering Dictator in the Oval Office, emotionally incontinent liberals in congress & their followers, the only way to “control the virus” is to force everyone to get an immune system altering injection that has NOT STOPPED THE MUTATION OF THE VIRUS or SPREAD OF COVID, HAS NO LONG TERM DURABILITY AGAINST THE VIRUS & NO ONE KNOWS THE LONG TERM SIDE EFFECT OF IT
        And the only 100% immunity these vaccines provide is lawsuit immunity for the drug companies.
        Just wondering, how many booster shots every proponent of vaccines is willing to take & how often they are willing to take them?

        • Concern Citizen

          January 17, 2022 at 3:42 pm

          Look like Trumps Operation Warp Speed to create a Covid vaccination was a failure. Typical failure of the New Republican Party.

          • Alicia

            January 17, 2022 at 4:53 pm

            First, didn’t Biden/Harris, and every other Demarcate that got on TV say they will never take a vaccine that Trump got approved, how many people died who listened to them? Now everyone must get the vaccine or else, you know the same vaccine that was approved under Trump.

            Why is no one taking into consideration that the deaths in the beginning were without vaccines. Then deaths were counted as covid deaths when they did not die of Covid but with Covid, a virus with a 99% survival rate people with no underlying conditions.

            The CDC never even considered natural immunity, or they say they have no information/numbers on it. It is hard to study that when people with natural immunity are not getting Covid again. Yes, I know some do, that is a breakthrough infection, another thing they lied about.

            If you want to get vaccinated, then get it, if you want to wear a mask, wear one, that is your choice, no one forced you, stop trying to force others. You made your choice, let other is make theirs. Vaccinated people are getting and spreading covid. If anyone can prove otherwise, I would like to hear it. If not, then mind your business, my health is not your concern, it is mine.

            AND before anyone starts preaching –

            1. not vaccinated
            2. recovered from Covid
            3. still have antibodies
            4. preexisting cardiomyopathy
            5. the vaccine can kill me.

            Try having that pressure on you, take a vaccine that can kill you or put food on your table.

          • Karma Zappati

            January 17, 2022 at 5:09 pm

            No, Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to create a Covid vaccination was a Resounding susses…
            It was produced
            But let be honest, 
            if Trump was still a president, NO PRO-VAX mental midgets like Concern Citizen, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Cuomo ect. WOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS VACCINE, the same vaccine they are pushing on everyone now

            “New Republican Party” members, as you call them, aka rational, logical, sane people are actually following SCIENCE & questioning everything about these vaccines being produced under 9 months.
            The only thing that is the FAILURE…IS YOUR EDUCATION.
            Go away, and next time before you decide to post something, remember this old proverb:
            It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool than to talk and remove all doubt of it.

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 5:31 pm

            Wow

            Alicia is just one lie after another.

            Amazing the nonsense Republicans get from Facebook huh?

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 5:35 pm

            And then to go from Alicia to Karma’s pure flaky BS;

            “if Trump was still a president, NO PRO-VAX mental midgets like Concern Citizen, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Cuomo ect. WOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS VACCINE”

            Bwahahahaahah!!!

            Why does the GQP attract nut cases like flies to shit?

            Amazing.

          • Concern Citizen

            January 17, 2022 at 5:51 pm

            Alicia and Karma —- Biden and Harris never said they would not the vaccinate.. You must be watching too much Tucker Carlson or other sources that create these lie.
            I hope that you folks are not Trolls posting to create chaos and division.

          • Alicia

            January 17, 2022 at 6:22 pm

            Washington (CNN)Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said that President Donald Trump’s word alone on any potential coronavirus vaccine is not enough.

            Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash in a clip released Saturday whether she would get a vaccine that was approved and distributed before the election, Harris replied, “Well, I think that’s going to be an issue for all of us.”
            “I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about,” she continued in the clip from an exclusive interview airing Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” at 9 a.m. ET. “I will not take his word for it.”

            What else did I lie about?

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 6:58 pm

            I bet you don’t understand that Trump told over 30,000 lies or misinformed that many times in his 4 years, ending up with more than 20 on average per day. Over half of the claims at his rallies were BS too.

            What she said ;
            “I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about,”

            That’s simply a fact about pathological liars, nothing they themselves say can be believed, and she qualified it by saying it would have to be verified by a trustworthy source.

            She is 100% right.

            Nice try.

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 7:31 pm

            Here is what you said;

            “First, didn’t Biden/Harris, and every other Demarcate that got on TV say they will never take a vaccine that Trump got approved”

            1. You only quoted Harris, not Biden or “every other Demarcate” (sic), so that’s two lies.
            2. “Biden lies daily” – facts not in evidence, 3 lies.
            3. “that Trump got approved” which is exactly what I talked about before that Harris qualified about a trustworthy source.

            So 4 lies in actuality.

        • Concern Citizen

          January 17, 2022 at 6:09 pm

          Karma Zappati is a troll farm in the Ukraine. Looking at Karma’s poor use of English grammar, Karma is a troll.. Interesting that Alicia and Karma usually post around the same time. Very Interesting! By the way, where is Tom?

          • Alicia

            January 17, 2022 at 6:48 pm

            I’m not a troll, and this was my first post so your “usually” comment just got blown out of the water. The woman defended her husband when someone else compared him to Hitler, I would do the same. Everything that is happening in this country is shameful. I blame this administration and some blame Trump, but someone needs to fix it. Biden has been in office for a year, eventually he needs to stop blaming Trump and start taking responsibility for his decisions.

          • Alicia

            January 17, 2022 at 7:15 pm

            Alex, they all lie! Words matter. Biden lies daily, so people don’t trust a thing this administration says, just like they didn’t trust Trump. They lied when they tried to impeach him. You can’t have it both ways. Again, what else did I lie about?

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 7:32 pm

            Here is what you said;

            “First, didn’t Biden/Harris, and every other Demarcate that got on TV say they will never take a vaccine that Trump got approved”

            1. You only quoted Harris, not Biden or “every other Demarcate” (sic), so that’s two lies.
            2. “Biden lies daily” – facts not in evidence, 3 lies.
            3. “that Trump got approved” which is exactly what I talked about before that Harris qualified about a trustworthy source.

            So 4 lies in actuality.

            (and next time try to post in the proper thread of the conversation, thanks)

      • Alicia

        January 17, 2022 at 8:02 pm

        Alex, really that’s what your going with. The FDA approved it under Trump.
        Biden lies – (before you call me a lier again below is not the exact wording)
        1. I’m going to shut down the virus
        2. I will not shut down the country
        3. There will not be a mask mandate
        4. I had no dealings with my son’s business affairs (as he poses in a picture with him)
        5. Build back better won’t cost Americans 1 red penny.

        Eventually he needs to stop blaming Trump and start taking responsibility for his actions. His approval rating is 33%, that should tell you something.

        • Alex

          January 17, 2022 at 8:08 pm

          Change of subject denied

          And no, I’m not chasing your attempts to redeem yourself on 1 lie by moving the goalposts.

          You’re a liar, deal with it however you wish.

          • Alicia

            January 17, 2022 at 10:46 pm

            How did I change the subject, I gave you the evidence, that you said wasn’t in my other post. Those are not my lies their Biden’s. I’m just repeating what he said, which again doesn’t make me a lier, no redemption needed on my part.
            I’m still waking up tomorrow not a liberal, so I’m good.

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 11:18 pm

            The subject was the lies you told sweetie, and I see you’re still trying to divert this away from yourself.

            You confirmed it here;

            “What else did I lie about?”

            Go try to BS someone dumb enough to play your teenage game.

    • Linda

      January 17, 2022 at 9:03 pm

      She’s an idiot

  • thought of the day

    January 17, 2022 at 12:07 pm

    The day Satan says clean out your own backyard before you mess in mine

  • Alex

    January 17, 2022 at 12:42 pm

    She’s married to a far-right nut with psychopathic tendencies.

    Trusting her judgment is foolish.

    • zhombre

      January 17, 2022 at 2:17 pm

      Reprehensible asshole and loser, that’s you, Alex.

      • Alex

        January 17, 2022 at 3:23 pm

        Poor zombie has nothing but hate.

    • Maven

      January 25, 2022 at 8:23 pm

      She loves playing the role of the dictator’s wife — from her trashy clothes to her plastic surgery addiction. She is just him with a lot more makeup, botox , and longer hair.

      • AnnainFL

        January 25, 2022 at 11:02 pm

        I bet desantis uses more hair gel then his wife does…

  • Impeach Biden

    January 17, 2022 at 3:30 pm

    Give me Ron DeSantis all day every day. Here you have the whiners, James Carville’s words not mine, on here that would vote again for that guy that prefers male prostitutes and crack, over a USN military officer, highly educated, and captain of his Yale baseball team. But there’s more. While Gillum promotes the Grinder app they now turn to the next nut Nikki Fried who will do and say anything to get the Governor seat. She won’t get it. Her fundraising is in the toilet and she won’t even be the Democratic nominee. So keep whining Democrats and get ready for an easy DeSantis re-election.

  • bob brooks

    January 17, 2022 at 3:46 pm

    Ron DeSantis is no Hitler but would compare him favorably to Trump… Attitudes shared from these two leaders are akin more to Communism then to fascism. Both wish to rule by fiat. I think the DeSantis regime in Florida had the record # of deaths from COVID.. Now, folks, that’s loving they neighbor

    • Tom

      January 17, 2022 at 6:43 pm

      No Biden & Fauci do,
      Fauci 859,000 & Biden 450,000 Covid dead.
      Alex, you , concerned & peter h are haters.
      Nikki Fraud is a racist. She is mentally ill. DeSantis is America’s Gov.

      • Maven

        January 25, 2022 at 8:25 pm

        No accountability for Trump? Of course — people like your ilk refuse to see truth. And the pig occupying the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee is a laughing stock across America. He is not beloved at all.

  • robert vonRinteln

    January 17, 2022 at 6:26 pm

    Nickki has nothing to offer, so she looks in the mirror and reports what she sees as someone else’s faults

  • Impeach Biden

    January 17, 2022 at 7:39 pm

    Hey Alicia, it looks like you have a little puppy named Alex following you around.🤣

    • Alex

      January 17, 2022 at 7:57 pm

      Alex
      January 17, 2022 at 12:59 pm
      “all you do is spew childish schoolboy insults because you’re a know-nothing”

      Thanks for proving it.

      Now bark!!

      • Impeach Biden

        January 17, 2022 at 8:03 pm

        You are just another one of those whiney Democrats that Carville is talking about. You won’t get your way with DeSantis. I see you are stalking me again. Woof! Woof!

        • Alex

          January 17, 2022 at 8:10 pm

          Good little doggy.

    • Alicia

      January 17, 2022 at 8:05 pm

      I seem to attract them, but eventually when you hit them with facts, they go away. 😁

      • Alex

        January 17, 2022 at 8:13 pm

        Lol

        Looking for emotional support?

  • Karma Zappati

    January 17, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    When someone of little or no intelligence online, like Concern Citizen & Alex, gets into a discussion, that they cannot keep up with because of their inability to think and process information outside of their closed little mind their usual response is to call the other person more intelligent than them A Troll!
    troll
    Concern Citizen & Alex

    • Alex

      January 17, 2022 at 7:54 pm

      Yawn.

      • Karma Zappati

        January 17, 2022 at 8:10 pm

        @ Alex -That was a fine, reasoned, and well-thought-out retort.
        Now, where did I put my sarcasm font?

        • Alex

          January 17, 2022 at 8:14 pm

          It’s short for “you’re irrelevant”

          • Karma Zappati

            January 17, 2022 at 8:34 pm

            Someone once said: “We are all born ignorant, but ONE MUST WORK HARD TO REMAIN STUPID.”
            Please, Alex, do yourself & everyone around you a huge favor, STOP WORKING!
            You have achieved your objective.

          • Alex

            January 17, 2022 at 8:38 pm

            Reread my previous comment.

            Have a lovely evening.

  • Karma Zappati

    January 17, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    Concern Citizen: “In the Ukraine”????? & “never said they would not the vaccinate”?????

    Talking about “poor use of English grammar”, where exactly “in the Ukraine” are you from?

  • Frankie M.

    January 17, 2022 at 8:19 pm

    Hitler?? No…he’s not that crazy. Ronnie is more of a propagandist like Goebbels. The fact that Ronnie needed his wife to defend him though makes me think this comment hits a little too close to the mark.

    • Impeach Biden

      January 17, 2022 at 8:39 pm

      So what do we make of it that Jill Biden has to come to the rescue and defend that feeble, dementia old man that somehow became the President of the US?

    • Maven

      January 25, 2022 at 8:26 pm

      Lady MacBeth DeSantis is his propagandist.

  • Karma Zappati

    January 17, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    @ Alex- “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”- George Carlin.
    At this point, I will take his advice, because you have way more experience.
    Bye Felicia

  • Alex

    January 17, 2022 at 9:27 pm

    The original version/quote is quite a bit older.

    My favorite version is;

    Never Argue With a Fool, Onlookers May Not Be Able To Tell the Difference.

    That fits the situation rather better don’t you agree?

    • Impeach Biden

      January 17, 2022 at 9:36 pm

      No. I thought you were off licking your wounds, but here you are my whiney Democrat still pissing and moaning. Nice job Karma.😀

      • Karma Zappati

        January 17, 2022 at 9:52 pm

        Thank you, Impeach Biden.
        It would be nice if trolls like Concern Citizen & Alex actually made the case for Biden or anyone on the left for that matter, without mentioning Trump, but they can’t.
        And it’s usually futile to try to talk facts & analysis to people, like them, who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their IGNORANCE.
        So, I am done responding to their meandering stream-of-idiotic consciousness (aka verbal diarrhea) on this site.

        • Alex

          January 17, 2022 at 10:21 pm

          When you have a fact let me know.

      • Alex

        January 17, 2022 at 10:19 pm

        Bark bark bark!

        Lol

  • Alicia

    January 17, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    I just gave you 5 of them.

    • Alex

      January 17, 2022 at 11:19 pm

      And I just shot you down in flames, again.

      Have a lovely evening.

      • Alicia

        January 18, 2022 at 10:50 am

        Lets try this again –

        1. You only quoted Harris, not Biden or “every other Democrat ” (sic), so that’s two lies.
        (when someone says Biden/Harris it’s usually either one or the Biden/Harris administration)
        Democrat
        Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 @JoyAnnReid I mean, will anyone … anyone at all … ever fully trust the @CDCgov again? And who on God’s earth would trust a vaccine approved by the @US_FDA ?? How do we get a vaccine distributed after this broken, Trumpist nonsense has infected everything? Even if Biden wins?

        The point – stop being hypocrites, once Biden was sworn in – we’re supposed to magically trust what democrats just condemned days or weeks before. Do you not see the hypocrisy of it?

        2. “Biden lies daily” – facts not in evidence, 3 lies.

        I gave you –
        1. I’m going to shut down the virus
        2. I will not shut down the country
        3. There will not be a mask mandate
        4. I had no dealings with my son’s business affairs (as he poses in a picture with him)
        5. Build back better won’t cost Americans 1 red penny

        All Lies

        3. “that Trump got approved”
        If you continued to read the first paragraph is says “Now everyone must get the vaccine or else, you know the same vaccine that was approved under Trump.”

        Not a lie, it was approved under Trump.

        Everything I said was not a lie, you want to make it seem that way because you have nothing else to contribute so you resort to calling people names. It’s been a fun conversation but I’d rather talk to someone who can bring substance to a conversation.
        One more for the road –
        Harris was asked in an Oct. 7, 2020, vice presidential debate if she would take a vaccine if the Trump administration approved one. Referring to the leading government epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, she said:
        “If the public health professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it. Absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it.”

  • Phyllis Johnson

    January 18, 2022 at 9:37 am

    Isn’t it funny? When GOP Marjorie Taylor Green invokes Hitler in her whacko comparisons to Democrats, repukes applaud and hail her as a savior – and NEVER demand her to be accountable for anything. When the tables turn, suddenly THEY are all butt-hurt and it’s now inappropriate to do. Republicans, being two-faced lowlifes, is more and more the default.

  • Sun Winkler

    January 18, 2022 at 9:53 am

    Governor DeSantis is one of the rare leaders today that seems to understand the value of upholding the DIGNITY of every human being. This governor seems to understand that Human Dignity is what gives life and meaning to a human beings existence. He seems to understand that without human dignity our life will be worthless. This is why he respects the choice that people make for themselves when it comes to health issues. He seems to understand that ‘Mandating’ drugs and the wearing of masks will be the End of Humanity. He does NOT penalize you on the choice you make in these issues. This is the kind of leader we need for the United States of America where others look up to for a demonstration of what a fair and just society should be. I hope these good and kind qualities of DeSantis does not change and I pray that Americans will consider him strongly as their next president…. God bless America.

    • Tom

      January 18, 2022 at 1:03 pm

      Well said Sun!

      Dem Manchurians like Alex, Frankie wash your car, peter h Elmo and demented non concerned illegal citizen can’t defend any Dem like N Fraud or Biden/Harris. They totally act like they don’t exist.
      They just attack, ridicule Repubs.
      It’s totally backfired. Gallup, Dem pollster has charted a 15 pt swing on party favorability. Repub. up by 5 pt.

      Dems have a 50 net seat House loss coming, 6 Senate seats. America’s Gov wins bigly. Fried is mentally ill.
      Enjoy her Dems.

  • AnnainFL

    January 18, 2022 at 9:54 am

    the truth does hurt sometimes Casey DeSantis.

  • Frankie M.

    January 18, 2022 at 10:55 am

    Jill Biden isn’t married to Donald Trump with his delusions of adequacy.

Comments are closed.


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